by Mike Sanders
on us. We looked like we were headed into combat. Therefore, getting
pulled over surely wouldn’t have been a good look.
I told my niggas, “Since them hoes at home, all we gotta do is fall
up in there.”
“What we doin’, a kick-door? ‘Cause I seen them heavy ass double
doors and they don’t look like they tryin’ to budge,” D.C. stated. I looked over at him and arrogantly conceded, “Nah, we gonna
walk up in that bitch.”
“Oh, so them bitches just gonna open the door and let in three
niggas with ski masks on?” Cross asked with sarcasm in his raspy
voice.
“Look back,” I told D.C. and Cross and watched as they both
turned in their seats. “See that car that’s been followin’ a nigga?” “Yeah, who is that? I ain’t wanna seem paranoid, but I been peeping
that car ever since we left West Boulevard. They ‘bout to get it.” D.C. was still watching the car as he cocked his pistol, ready to
fire.
“Simmer down, nigga, that’s my sister and Sapphire. Y’all already
know what it is!” I said, smiling.
When we reached the girls’ neighborhood, I rode past their house
and saw both Range Rovers and the BMW parked in the circular
driveway, indicating that they were both home. I drove to the end of
their street and made a right at the stop sign. The tree-lined streets were
peaceful and the neighborhood was so quiet that it was almost eerie. I
pulled over and waved my sister around so that she could pull up next
to me. I spoke briefly to Ice just to make sure she and Phire knew their
roles. Ice was a vet at that shit but Phire was a rookie and we didn’t
need any fuck-ups.
After our conversation my sister and I went separate ways. I drove
back down Tan’s street and parked a few houses away from their’s. We
jogged back to the house while Justice pulled right up in the driveway
in the rental car as if she belonged there. She waited for us to get into
position before she and Sapphire exited the car. Once she saw that we
were situated they waltzed directly up to the front door as if they were
visiting old friends.
I was ducking down behind a large granite statue of Cupid just off
the side of the walkway, which led to the steps to the front doors. D.C.
was posted up directly across from me, behind an identical statue, while
Cross was hiding just beyond the porch where the two large double
doors were located. All three of us had put on our ski masks and our
pistols were cocked and ready! It was understood that once we gained
entry, Cross would do all of the talking because we didn’t want to take the risk of the two girls recognizing me and D.C. We also made sure D.C.’s dreads and the tattoo on my neck was concealed because those
would have been dead giveaways.
While I waited I was looking around at the dark, elegant neighborhood and wondering how much dough a nigga had to have to live there.
This neighborhood reminded me of the Ballentyne neighborhood in
Charlotte. The cheapest house in this neighborhood was probably five
hundred stacks at the least.
I glanced toward the front door and noticed the attire Phire and Ice
were wearing. They were both dressed like they were headed to a party.
They had on expensive looking skirts along with stylish heels. I’d told
them to dress for the club because after they were finished playing their
parts that’s exactly where I wanted them to go. They needed to be seen
for alibi purposes in case something was to go sour.
Phire rang the doorbell using a handkerchief to avoid leaving
prints.
Moments later, the porch light above the double doors came on and
I saw To’Wanda glance out of the curtains in one of the front rooms.
Ice waved at her from the porch.
“Hey, girl! Where Sissy at? Y’all ain’t goin’ to the party?” My sister was acting like she was looking for an old friend. Seconds later, Tan joined her friend at the window and I saw Phire
wave at her and motion toward the front door as if she were telling the
girls to come and let them in. I watched as To’Wanda momentarily left
the window while Tan stayed there looking out.
Damn, Tan’s gonna see Cross! I thought as To’Wanda opened the
front door to speak with the two girls on their porch, letting them
know that they were at the wrong house. As soon as one of the doors
opened Cross made his move!
Pushing my sister and Sapphire aside, Cross forced the door open.
This caused To’Wanda to trip and fall backwards inside the foyer. Just
as I’d figured, as soon as Tan saw Cross, she fled from the window! “Damn!” I mumbled under my breath.
D.C. and I both emerged from our hiding places at the same time.
We rushed past Phire and Ice and into the house with pistols drawn! As soon as I stepped through the door I saw Tan heading for the
spiral staircase, running full-speed! I stepped over Cross as he subdued
To’Wanda while she kicked and screamed. I chased Tan toward the
stairs with my pistol aimed at her. When I finally reached the staircase
Tan was halfway up the flight, screaming at the top of her lungs. I knew
I had to catch her and shut her ass up before a nosey ass neighbor could
hear her. I took the stairs two at a time until I was only a few feet away
from her. Tan was moving swiftly and she was now only steps away
from the top. I reached out and half-lunged, half- dived and grabbed a
fistful of her hair, snatching her head backwards as hard as I could! She
screamed as her head snapped rearward, but she didn’t stop running.
She kept it moving.
“What the fuck!?” I mumbled while looking at the clump of
hair in my hand that I’d snatched out of Tan’s head. Realizing it was
weave, I tossed it to the floor and continued to chase her into one of
the bedrooms. When I reached the room she had entered, she was
attempting to close the door. I rammed it with all the strength I had
and ended up knocking her on her ass inside the large bedroom. In an instance, I was on top of her like a WWE wrestler, holding her
down with my weight. I slapped her twice and raised my index finger
to my lips in a gesture of silence. Once it was understood who was in
control I reached into my pocket and retrieved the plastic cuffs and
duct tape. I taped her mouth, and then commenced to cuff her hands
behind her back as if she were under arrest. Just then, D.C. entered the
room and gave me a “thumb’s up,” signaling that there were no further
occupants inside the house.
I snatched Tan to her feet and motioned for D.C. to take her back
downstairs with Cross and To’Wanda. As he ushered her out I began
to search the room, starting with the closet. On my way toward the
large walk-in I looked over at the nightstand and saw a chrome .25
automatic pistol lying next to the alarm clock.
“Oh snap! That bitch was tryin’ to get to her ratchet,” I said aloud
as I walked over and picked up the small handgun.
I held the tiny pistol in my palm and admired the custom-made
pearl handle. I laughed at the idea of Tan wanting to shoot me with
that little ass shit. I was still laughing as I placed the burner in my
back pocket and stepped inside the spacious closet. I looked about
in amazement and was shocked at how much it looked like a miniboutique inside. These girls had minks, expensive dresses with the tags
still attached, and racks upon racks of shoes that were still in boxes
like they’d never been worn. Looking at all of that expensive shit had
me regretting the fact that we hadn’t brought a fucking U-Haul truck
with us! Nevertheless, I knew my sister and Phire would enjoy the free
shopping spree.
While searching the closet I noticed a small storage chest situated in
the corner behind a few hanging dresses. My first thought was safe; so
I walked over and bent down to open it. As soon as I lifted the lid my
eyes were treated with a surprise.
“Well I’d be damned,” I said to myself with a broad grin spread
across my face. Just one look and I knew I’d just opened Pandora’s Box!
Inside the chest were tons of sex toys. Most of which were strap-on
dildos and vibrators of all sizes. There were costumes, whips, handcuffs, anal beads, lubrication gels; you name it these bitches had it. “These bad ass bitches is dykin’,” I laughed aloud at the revelation
of Tandora and To’Wanda being bisexual.
Then the more I thought about it the more things were beginning to add up and make sense. These girls were doing their thing
and getting paid, so I guessed they felt like they didn’t need a man for
anything. However, at that very moment while they were being bound
and gagged I was willing to bet anything that they were both wishing
they had a man in the house to try and protect them from niggas like
me.
I closed the freak box and continued to search the closet, then
on to the rest of the bedroom. After coming up empty, I exited the
room and headed downstairs to join the rest of my team. I wanted to
inform Justice and Sapphire about all of the free gear and shoes Tan
and To’Wanda had just donated to them.
On my way down the hall I heard a non-descript sound coming
from behind one of the closed doors on my right, just beyond the large
bathroom I had just passed.
I thought Cross and D.C. already searched these rooms up here, I
thought.
I crept closer to the door with my pistol aimed and ready to squeeze!
When I reached the door I stood off to the side and listened for a
minute. Slight shuffling could be heard beyond the door and at that
instance my adrenaline began pumping like crazy. I reached out and
tried the knob to see if it was unlocked, and to my surprise it was! Hesitantly, I slowly twisted the knob. As soon as the door was ajar
I quickly pushed it open and had no idea of what I’d meet with on the
other side.
“OOH SHITT!” I gasped as one of the biggest pit bulls I’d ever laid
eyes on rushed out!
The beast was foaming at the mouth with bared teeth and lunged
directly for me as if he was about to have supper. I threw my arm up in
a gesture of defense as I stumbled back against the wall just before I let
off two quick shots, striking the dog in its head. It was dead instantly! Moments later, I was stepping over the lifeless K-9 and was met
with Cross as soon as I reached the top of the staircase. I was sweating
beneath the mask and my adrenaline was still pumping! “What the...” Cross started. He looked past me and saw the bloody
dog. He let out a deep sigh when he realized that the gunfire hadn’t
been anything serious. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. It’s a dog in that
room.”
He was laughing and pointing at the room where the dog had
emerged from.
“Fine time to tell a nigga.” I just shook my head. I breathed a sigh
of relief and whispered, “Where my sister at?”
“They bounced already,” he answered while still looking at the
bloody dog.
After I gathered my composure we both headed back downstairs
to where D.C. was watching over the two girls. Tan and To’Wanda both lay on the floor sobbing behind the duct tape. I nodded at Cross, letting him know it was time to handle business. Without hesitation,
he started with the demands.
“Where the money at? As soon as we get it, we’ll be out and leave
y’all alone.” He raised his pistol and pointed it in the girls’ direction
and added, “Make no mistake about it, if y’all wanna play hard and
make a nigga have’ta look for that shit we torturing both you bitches!
Give it to us or give that shit to God. It’s your choice!”
I looked over at him from where I was standing and I saw him look
up at me. He was getting a kick out of using my line.
I bent down and peeled the tape off of Tan’s mouth and noticed my
handprints on her face from where I’d slapped her.
As soon as the tape was removed she sobbed while confessing, “It’s
out back in the tool shed in the wooden chest next to the tool locker.
The key is in the kitchen in the top drawer next to the dishwasher.” I saw To’Wanda look over at Tan as if she was mad because she had
given up the location of the stash. Tan was looking at To’Wanda with
tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry. I just didn’t wanna see them hurt you,” she cried with
trembling lips.
I put the tape back on Tan’s mouth as Cross entered the kitchen and
went straight to the key. He came back and showed the key to Tan and
she nodded, confirming that he had the correct key. These girls had
actually thought we were going to leave once we cleaned out the stash,
but little did they know, we were waiting for the “big fish” to arrive. We
were waiting for the two Hispanic dudes with the briefcase! Cross went back through the kitchen and exited the back door. He
was headed for the tool shed, which was approximately fifty feet or so
away from the house. I walked over and looked through the kitchen
window and saw him open the door to the shed. As soon as he was
inside I heard a series of beeps coming from what seemed to be twenty
different locations within the house. I rushed back into the living room
area where D.C. and the girls were and saw that D.C.’s eyes were as big
as saucers. He was frantically looking around and trying to pinpoint the location of the beeps as well. Seconds after the beeps had started, reality dawned on me all at once. These sly ass bitches had set us up.
The beeps were coming from an alarm!
I dashed through the kitchen and out the back door to get Cross. I
had to let him know that we had to abort our mission. When I reached
the tool shed I saw Cross hastily throwing empty boxes out of his way
as he continued to search for the never-existing “treasure chest.” I told him, “My nigga, we gotta bounce! You tripped an alarm!” “That stankin’ ass bitch lied! Ain’t no money out here! She thank a
nigga playin’ wit’ her ass!? I’ma torture this hoe for real for tryin’ me
like that!” Cross had venom in his voice.
He was still looking for the chest and acted as if he hadn’t heard
a word I’d just said. When he was satisfied that there was no stash
he exited the shed and was headed back toward the house. D.C. was
coming out the back door.
“Yo! You heard what I just said? A muthafuckin’ alarm is goin’ off,
/>
nigga! Fuck dem bitches! We gotta go!” I grabbed Cross’s arm as he
attempted to re-enter the house with fire in his eyes. I managed to pull
him away from the door and gave him a shove, which started his stride
as we all fled from the large house.
When we made it back to the car we peeled out and made it out of
the neighborhood unnoticed. We drove back to Charlotte feeling like
damn fools because we knew we’d just fucked up what should’ve been
a sweet lick. I was behind the wheel once again as Cross rode shotgun
D.C. sat in the back. They were both heated!
As I drove, I was having mixed emotions about what had just
happened. I was angry as hell because we hadn’t come out of the house
with anything but a fuckin’ .25 automatic. But at the same time, I had
a little admiration for how much heart Tandora and To’Wanda had
displayed. We had underestimated those bitches and in return, they
had caught us sleeping!
It was unbeknownst to me to what extreme anybody else would go
to in order to uphold their respect; nevertheless, I could vouch for the
fact that those two girls were indeed willing to die for theirs. I had to love that. If one of my niggas would’ve looked closely
enough at me while I was lost in thought about Tan and To’Wanda,
they would have seen a slight smile spread across my lips.
CHAPTER NINE JUSTICE
Hey stranger. Know who this is?” I was speaking into my Bluetooth. “How can I forget the voice? I was starting to think you wasn’t
gonna get at me. How’s my Chyna doll doin?” J.T.’s voice was even
sexier over the phone than I remembered it being in person. Since that night I had met J.T. at Nine Three Five I had wanted to
contact him, but I didn’t want to look too desperate or make it seem as
if a sistah was too interested. So I waited a while before calling. Sapphire and I were at my place relaxing and making plans for the
weekend when I’d decided to give J.T. a call. Sapphire was milling
about in my kitchen while I sat on the sofa sipping on an apple
martini, enjoying a nice little buzz. It had been a couple of days since
my brother and his crew had fucked up the robbery in Rock Hill; and
Sapphire was still a little tight because it had been her first time on
a jux and she didn’t get compensated for her services. We were both